Organizers move event indoors ahead of storm

Saturday’s nasty weather drove the BoCo (Beaufort County) Music Festival mostly away from the Washington waterfront and indoors by early afternoon.

Howling winds forced volunteers to brace a tent with their bodies, while everything from hats to hairdos fell victim to Mother Nature’s relentless gusts.

“Have you ever heard of a hurricane party?” joked Rob Cuthrell, president of the Beaufort County Traditional Music Association.

Organizers were set to take down a tent set up by the offices of the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce, and the main stage in the Festival Park area was deemed too risky for play with a fierce cold front rolling in.

A beer garden that was supposed to open in the afternoon was called off.

Still, the bands played on, just elsewhere.

By 2 p.m., a lot of the music was set to be restaged inside the Washington Civic Center, said Cuthrell, a member of the BoCo organizing committee.

Prior to that, pickers with Cuthrell’s BCTMA and other outfits entertained onlookers.

As band members filed onto the stage, attendee Paul Godley helped hold up a small tent sheltering sound equipment while the wind made mischief over the choppy Pamlico River.

Asked whether he had been designated a tent holder, Godley replied, “I am today.”

The third-annual festival was staged by the Beaufort County Arts Council, with support from BCTMA.

The daylong concert kicked off Friday night at Music in the Streets in downtown Washington.